Given how great the Core i5-2500K and i7-2600K perform, it is easy to forget that the current Sandy Bridge LGA1155 processors are part of Intelís mainstream series, not their high-end one. Therefore, it is more than due time for us to test out some of the lower priced offerings. Although we would love to try them all, the two models that we are reviewing today are the Core i3-2120 and the Core i5-2400, which respectively have $138 and $184 MSRPs.

and now the million dollar question : if you were on intel's board of techies, how would you explain it to the man
the '100 dollar amd apu heavily beating a 300 dollar i7 in gaming running off the igp' ?

A family friend asked me a week or two ago to build them a new PC and I ended up grabbing the i3-2120 on sale for ~119 which I thought was a steal! Good to know I made a good choice without reading much about the chip! Solid review though Sky. The final conclusion comparison charts were much appreciated!

Nice read, definitely has me rethinking what I want to put into the pc I am piecing together. OC'ing is not something I absolutely want to do, and I really don't want to break the bank. This might be the answer for me.

I've got the 2400 and it rocks :D. This review is more than awesome. one question here, what CPU cooler did you use ? I did not read the whole thing and i think i missed it. I believe its the stock, isn't it ?!
Mine is setting under a V8 and it never gets above 37 degrees under load (prime95). Can't believe that Intel's coolers are so bad